March

01st March

There is now 24 inches of water above the closing height. Bank fishing should be the norm for a few days till the level drops. Today I was told by Eddie the Bailiff that a farm fish, about 9lbs, was caught at the Wash house pool a couple of days ago. It appeared well mended so it was impossible to say how long that it had been in the river. Apart from this the river is very quiet.

04th March

Yesterday morning the river was deserted at the top end with the exception of one or two anglers. One such angler ( there is a reference on the forum ) hooked a fish about 09.30hrs at the Double pipes on the flying C. After it gave him a good scrap the fish was safely returned because he wasn't sure about what exactly it was. The fish was examined by the angler and two others before returning it to the river. I just missed the action by five minutes. It was about 8lbs and silver coloured and in good condition overall. The tail was in perfect condition but the dorsal fin was slightly damaged. The vent was ok. The mouth wasn't examined. An examination of the teeth would have been useful. It was slim in appearance. A lot of scales were left on the bank. The most interesting piece of information was that it had long tailed lice on it. Was it a kelt, farm fish or a springer? A discussion ensued at the Bonhill bridge as to the likely identity of the fish. It was decided that it was unlikely to be the first springer because of the slim appearance. The lice meant that it would be unlikely to be a kelt. A perfect tail is not normally found on a farm fish? There have been reports of farm fish milling around at the estuary. One of them could have made it's way up the river or it could have been in the river over the winter and made it's way to the sea and returned? This is all speculation. The most worrying aspect of all this is that a similar fish - in appearance - could be caught in the near future and be mistaken for a springer or deliberately be identified as the first springer. If several are caught then the spring run will be distorted and overblown numbers wise. It could be claimed that a good spring run is underway when it isn't! Vested interests could distort the facts. It was reported in this month's Trout & Salmon that two springers were caught in February last season. To my knowledge there was one, which was disputed by some anglers.

09th March

Unfortunately there hasn't been a response as to who caught the other springer. The anglers can make up their own minds to it's supposed existence. On Wednesday I spoke to some local anglers who fish the McKinnon's area on an almost daily basis. They think that there has been springers going through the river with the possibility that one or two have been lost. The LLAIA are reporting the loss of a springer on Monday. To be honest it is at best speculative as to what is happening. The water level is too high for reasonable fishing in my opinion but some anglers are trying never the less. This height of water should mean that it will be April before the gates are raised at the earliest. The forum, so far, has been reasonably successful. A couple of days of flaming occurred but peace, for the moment, has broken out. Once the clocks change the anglers confidence will rise and hopefully so will the fish!

10th March

Once again the river was quiet this morning. The water height will be off putting for many. There was a kelt caught by an angler opposite the angling club whilst he was trolling prior to going to the Loch. I was told that twenty two boats broke free from their moorings in the high water over the winter and drifted down to the Barrage. Three went beyond the Barrage. One boat was pulled under the surface because the mooring was too short. It emerged a month later with the angler's gear and cooker still in the boat. Apparently anglers on the Loch have been hooking good sized sea trout and brownies about the 6/7lbs mark. They weren't kelts. A fishing net was found at the Linbrain this morning. Eddie the Bailiff has it in his van.

12th March

If anyone has a problem logging on to the forum please e-mail me. I have taken steps to ban an individual from the forum that may impact on other users. This is not to be confused with the slow access of the last two days. A server problem - out of my hands - is the likely cause.

14th March

A phone call to 1&1, my internet provider, has hopefully solved the problem of logging on and the slow loading of pages. I believe that this is a problem that can arise from time to time so posters should be patient in future. There isn't any news of springers being caught. The water level remains high and it will be next week before reasonable fishing conditions prevail.

15th March

My internet provider, 1&1, are still reporting problems with the database connection. They promise a quick solution. I have threatened them with changing providers. No doubt they have heard it all before!

17th March

At the risk of tempting fate it looks like the forum is running smoothly again. Fingers crossed! Ian Hogg has e-mailed me to inform me that Chic had a couple of kelts during the week on the flying C. Thanks Ian. The high level of water is persistent. In a couple of weeks when the springers are due it should be at a good height. Hopefully!

18th March

On Monday 26th February John Brady hooked a fish in the Garden Stream area. At first it was thought to be a springer but alas it was a farm fish. Well done to him though! Today I received an image of the fish. Thanks for the information. Yesterday was very quiet on the river. The windy weather meant that there wasn't a good turnout of anglers.

20th March

I have received an e-mail stating that two farm fish were caught today. Rab Hainey caught one at the Top pool on a three inch yellow bellied devon and Alan Price caught the other at the Piles on a red floating devon. Both fish were about 8lbs and were described as fresh run bars of silver. Farm fish tend to follow wild fish into the river so this is possibly a good sign? Thanks for the information.

22nd March

The water level is dropping down to a reasonable fishing height. The weather forecast for Saturday is good so a good turnout on the river is expected. As to wading, caution is advisable. Bank fishing will be preferable but growth will be a problem on some stretches. Jack Ferguson hooked and lost a fish today in the Bonhill pool. He is adamant it wasn't the cable he hooked! 

23rd March

I have received an e-mail from Ian Hogg informing me that he tailed a fish for Chic yesterday evening at the bottom of the Street run. It was a 10lbs fin perfect farm fish covered in sea lice caught on a comet tube fly. Thanks Ian.

Up-date

Ian has just informed me that this evening he caught a farm fish, bar of silver, about 8lbs, no lice, at the bottom of the Street run on a big tadpole double. Once again thanks!

30th March

There hasn't been any reports of fish of any kind caught this week. I think that there were very few anglers on the river. There is now nine inches of water above the closing height. The water temperature is about 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Without rain it could be next Friday or Monday that the gates are raised. The good news is that next week the river level will be excellent for any method of fishing and if there are springers in the system then they should be showing? Hopefully!